Mark S. King

Mark King, one of six siblings, was born on December 23, 1960, to a military family that settled in Shreveport, Louisiana.{{Cite web|url=https://aumag.org/2018/03/02/mark-s-king-cover-story/|title=Mark S. King: Cover Story {{!}} A&U Magazine|last=Needle|first=Chael|access-date=10 December 2018}} He graduated from the University of Houston in 1981{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}.

Following college, King went to Hollywood to pursue a career in acting, and appeared in television commercials. While in California, he also owned and operated a gay fantasy phone service, Telerotic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/author/mark-s-king/|title=Mark S. King / Author at LGBTQ Nation|website=LGBTQ Nation|access-date=10 December 2018}} His memoir, A Place Like This, focuses on his time in Los Angeles during the early years of the AIDS pandemic.

After King tested HIV positive in 1985, he became an AIDS activist, and was the first public relations director for the Los Angeles Shanti Foundation.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hivequal.org/hiv-equal-online/legendary-activists-in-the-fight-against-hiv|title=Legendary Activists in the Fight Against HIV|publisher=HIV Equal|access-date=10 December 2018}}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} He later served as director of education and communication for AID Atlanta.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/29/us/hiv-peril-and-rising-drug-use.html|title=H.I.V. Peril and Rising Drug Use|last=Sack|first=Kevin|date=January 29, 1999|work=The New York Times|access-date=10 December 2018|issn=0362-4331}}

King publishes a video blog, My Fabulous Disease, the subjects of which include HIV and AIDS, LGBTQ+ issues, substance abuse, politics, sex, and his own family. King advocates against HIV criminalization{{Cite web|url=https://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/sex-while-hiv-positive-the-new-criminals/|title=Sex while HIV Positive: The New Criminals|last=King|first=Mark S.|date=September 6, 2010|website=My Fabulous Disease|access-date=11 December 2018}} and is a proponent of U=U (undetectable = untransmittable){{Cite web|url=https://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/five-reasons-hiv-undetectable-must-equal-untransmittable/|title=Five Reasons 'HIV Undetectable' Must Equal 'Untransmittable'|date=December 15, 2016|website=marksking.com|access-date=11 December 2018}} and the use of PrEP.{{Cite web|url=https://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/the-sound-and-fury-of-the-prep-debate-and-the-facts-to-win-it/|title=The Sound and Fury of the PrEP Debate (and the Facts to Win It)|last=King|first=Mark S.|date=January 27, 2014|website=My Fabulous Disease|access-date=11 December 2018}}

In 2020 My Fabulous Disease received the GLAAD Media Award for outstanding blog, its fifth nomination.{{Cite web|date=January 21, 2015|title=GLAAD Media Awards 2015: All the Nominees!|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/616708/glaad-media-awards-2015-complete-list-of-nominations|access-date=13 December 2018|publisher=E!}}{{Cite web|date=January 31, 2017|title=GLAAD Media Awards 2017: Complete List of Nominations|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/825669/glaad-media-awards-2017-complete-list-of-nominations|access-date=13 December 2018|publisher=E!}}{{Cite web|date=January 18, 2018|title=Stories of people living with HIV among 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards nominees|url=https://www.glaad.org/blog/stories-people-living-hiv-among-29th-annual-glaad-media-awards-nominees|access-date=12 December 2018|website=GLAAD}}{{Cite web|title=GLAAD Media Awards Nominees #glaadawards|url=https://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/30/nominees|access-date=5 February 2019|website=GLAAD}}{{Cite web|date=2020-01-08|title=The Nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards|url=https://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/31/2020%20nominees|access-date=2020-01-22|website=GLAAD|language=en}} He was named 2020's LGBTQ Journalist of the Year by the Association of LGBTQ Journalists.

King has presented at, and reported on, regional, national, and international HIV/AIDS conferences, including the International AIDS Conference. His coverage of AIDS2016 in Durban, South Africa, was featured in materials for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.{{Cite web|url=https://elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org/the-grandchildren-of-elizabeth-taylor-are-hiv-activists-too/|title=The Grandchildren of Elizabeth Taylor are HIV Activists Too|year=2016|website=Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation|access-date=December 13, 2018|archive-date=February 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212193158/https://elizabethtayloraidsfoundation.org/the-grandchildren-of-elizabeth-taylor-are-hiv-activists-too/|url-status=dead}}

King's articles, blog entries, videos, and commentaries have appeared in Huffpost, TheBody.com, The Advocate, and Poz Magazine, among others. He has been interviewed or cited on NBC,{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/three-decades-later-men-who-survived-gay-plague-speak-out-n825621|title=Three decades later, men who survived the 'gay plague' speak out|date=December 2017 |publisher=NBC News|access-date=13 December 2018}} CNN,{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/health/2012/12/02/lemon-mark-king-intv.cnn|title=Living Positive with HIV: Don Lemon Interviews Mark King of Myfabulousdisease.com|date=December 2, 2012|publisher=CNN}} NPR,{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/08/16/432435481/though-not-a-death-sentence-hiv-aids-still-holds-a-powerful-stigma|title=Though Not A Death Sentence, HIV/AIDS Still Holds A Powerful Stigma|website=NPR.org |publisher=NPR|access-date=13 December 2018}} Salon,{{Cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/amp/world-aids-day-a-reminder-we-are-not-a-threat-to-you|title=On World AIDS Day, HIV patients offer a reminder: "We are not a threat to you" {{!}} Salon.com|website=Salon|access-date=13 December 2018|archive-date=September 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906044448/https://www.salon.com/amp/world-aids-day-a-reminder-we-are-not-a-threat-to-you|url-status=dead}} and the Washington Post.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/i-dont-feel-like-im-a-threat-anymore-new-hiv-guidelines-are-changing-lives/2017/11/24/a9ee84e2-cf10-11e7-a1a3-0d1e45a6de3d_story.html|title="I Don't Feel Like I'm a Threat Anymore." New HIV Guidelines are Changing Lives.|last=Bernstein|first=Lenny|date=November 24, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post}} He also participated in the original "Let's Stop HIV Together" campaign launched in 2012 by the Centers for Disease Control.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/2012/letsstophivtogether2012-graphics.html|title=Let's Stop HIV Together {{!}} Individual Campaign Images {{!}} Newsroom {{!}} NCHHSTP {{!}} CDC|website=cdc.gov|access-date=14 December 2018}}

In 2013, HIV Equal included him in a list of thirteen notable HIV/AIDS activists.

King tested positive for HIV in 1985, the year testing became publicly available. King is openly gay, and is also open about his addiction to alcohol and drugs, particularly crystal methamphetamine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hivplusmag.com/2018/5/14/redemption-after-meth-addiction|title=Redemption After Meth Addiction|date=May 14, 2018|website=hivplusmag.com|access-date=10 December 2018}} According to HuffPost, he has slept with close to 10,000 men.{{Cite web|last=Michelson|first=Noah|date=2020-07-31|title=This Man Slept With Nearly 10,000 People. Here's What Having All That Sex Taught Him.|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sex-ten-thousand-partners-podcast_n_5f21b3e3c5b66a5dd638521c|access-date=2020-10-22|website=HuffPost|language=en}} He has been sober since 2012. In 2015 he married Michael Mitchell.{{Cite web|url=http://www.lauriemedia.com/blog-1/2015/9/21/a-day-with-hiv-mark-s-king.html|title=A Day With HIV: Mark S. King|website=LaurieMedia|date=September 21, 2015 |access-date=10 December 2018}}

• My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor (2023){{Cite book |last=King |first=Mark S. |title=My Fabulous Disease: Chronicles of a Gay Survivor |publisher=Mark S. King |year=2023 |isbn=979-8987721407}}
• A Place Like This: A Memoir (2007){{Cite book|title=A Place Like This: A Memoir|isbn = 978-0595474752|last1 = King|first1 = Mark S.|year=2007| publisher=iUniverse }}
• "Suicide, A Love Story," in Shades of Blue, Amy Ferris, ed. (2015){{Cite book|title=Shades of Blue|date=September 29, 2015|isbn = 978-1580055956|last1 = Ferris|first1 = Amy|publisher=Basic Books }}
• My Fabulous Disease (video blog){{Cite web|url=https://marksking.com/|title=My Fabulous Disease|website=marksking.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}
• "David Furnish talks Sir Elton, PrEP and U=U at AIDS2018 Confab," Queerty, August 1, 2018 (interviewing David Furnish){{Cite web|url=https://www.queerty.com/david-furnish-talks-sir-elton-prep-uu-aids2018-confab-20180801|title=David Furnish talks Sir Elton, PrEP and U=U at AIDS2018 confab|last=King|first=Mark|date=August 1, 2018|website=queerty.com|access-date=14 December 2018}}
• "Finding Larry Kramer," Poz Magazine, May 15, 2018 (interviewing Larry Kramer)

• Featured participant, Meth (2006){{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Meth-Todd-Ahlberg/dp/B002UX6FEU/|title=Meth|website=Amazon |access-date=11 December 2018}}
• Producer, actor, Merce, Seasons 1 & 2{{Cite web|url=https://www.mercetheseries.com/|title=mercetheseries|website=mercetheseries|access-date=11 December 2018}}
• Contestant, The Price is Right (1980){{Citation|last=Mark S. King|title=Winning on The Price is Right 1980|date=April 4, 2008 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fcrsc7IcUU|access-date=11 December 2018}}

• 2018 OHTN Research Conference, Toronto, ON (plenary speaker){{Cite web|url=http://www.ohtn.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/OHTN_2018-research-conference.pdf|title=HIV Endgame 3: Breakthrough Initiatives|website=OHTN Research Conference|access-date=13 December 2018}}
• 2018 United States Conference on AIDS (plenary speaker){{Citation|title=The HIV Survivor Monologues: Emotional Whiplash| date=September 8, 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRJWaQf0Cxo|access-date=13 December 2018}}
• 2015 NLGJA Conference (plenary panel moderator){{Cite web|url=https://www.nlgja.org/blog/2015/03/three-great-hiv-story-ideas-you-could-write-tomrrow/|title=Three Great HIV Story Ideas You Could Write Tomorrow – NLGJA|access-date=13 December 2018}}
• 2013 ADAP Advocacy Association Annual Conference (panelist){{Cite web|url=http://www.adapadvocacy.org/2013-07_conference/events_07_2013_speakers.html|title=2013 Annual Conference {{!}} Event Panelists|website=adapadvocacy.org|access-date=13 December 2018}}

• 2020—Named to the Out (magazine) 2020 Out100 List,
• 2020—Outstanding Blog, GLAAD Media Award, for My Fabulous Disease (nominated in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.).
• 2020—Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for the LGBTQ Journalist of the Year, Association of LGBTQ Journalists.
• 2014, 2016, 2020 – Excellence in Blogging Award, National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, First place, for My Fabulous Disease{{Cite web|url=https://www.nlgja.org/blog/2014/07/nlgja-announces-2014-excellence-in-journalism-award-winners-and-honorees/|title=NLGJA Announces 2014 Excellence in Journalism Award Winners and Honorees – NLGJA|access-date=13 December 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nlgja.org/blog/2016/08/nlgja-announces-2016-excellence-journalism-award-winners-honorees/|title=NLGJA Announces 2016 Excellence in Journalism Award Winners and Honorees – NLGJA|access-date=10 December 2018}}
• 2013 – Listed in "Legendary Activists in the Fight Against AIDS" in HIV Equal
• 2013 – Selected as a Grand Marshall for Atlanta Pride Parade{{Cite web|url=https://thegavoice.com/news/atlanta/atlanta-pride-announces-2013-parade-grand-marshals/|title=Atlanta Pride announces 2013 parade grand marshals|date=August 8, 2013|website=Georgia Voice – Gay & LGBT Atlanta News|access-date=13 December 2018}}
• 2011, 2018 – Listed in Poz Magazine's "Poz 100"{{Cite web|url=https://www.poz.com/article/POZ-100-2011-51to75-21420-2142|title=The POZ 100: 51 to 75|date=November 21, 2011|website=POZ|access-date=10 December 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.poz.com/article/2018-poz-100-lm|title=The POZ 100: L-M|date=November 12, 2018|website=POZ|access-date=8 January 2019}}
• 2010 – Included in "The Best of 'It Gets Better'", The Advocate, October 4, 2010{{Cite web|url=http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/internet/2010/10/04/best-it-gets-better|title=The Best of It Gets Better|date=October 4, 2010|website=advocate.com|access-date=14 December 2018}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://marksking.com http://marksking.com]
• https://www.youtube.com/user/MyFabulousDisease
• [https://soundcloud.com/user-197021129/bonus-track-mark-s-king Bonus Track: Mark S. King] (interview of King by Gillian Frank on the podcast, "Sexting History.")
• "[https://www.npr.org/2015/08/16/432435481/though-not-a-death-sentence-hiv-aids-still-holds-a-powerful-stigma Though Not A Death Sentence, HIV/AIDS Still Holds A Powerful Stigma]," Rachel Martin, Weekend Edition Sunday (NPR), August 16, 2015 (interview)
• "[https://edition.cnn.com/videos/health/2012/12/02/lemon-mark-king-intv.cnn Living Positive with HIV]." (CNN interview with Don Lemon)

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Category:1960 births

Category:Living people

Category:American gay writers

Category:American HIV/AIDS activists

Category:Gay memoirists

Category:People with HIV/AIDS

Category:University of Houston alumni

Category:21st-century American male writers

Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century American memoirists

Category:American writers with disabilities

Category:American activists with disabilities

Category:LGBTQ writers with disabilities